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TCM01 - Rhodochrosite with Barite - $3250 Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China miniature, 5.7 x 4.4 x 2.3 cm
A SHARP, beautiful cherry-red , elongated disc-shaped crystal from this small find. Most unusual in form, compared to other worldwide rhodo locales where you may see this habit, but not in such sizeable crystals. This is a particularly fine example for this locality because of the size, good color, overall form, and completeness all around. Both sides shown - it is almost a floater with just a small attachment point on the bottom. Also, the barite association is a novel and nice touch!
TCM02 - Topaz with inclusions - $2000 SOLD Wah Tu Wah Mine, Gao Li Gongshan, Wenshan, Yunnan Province, China small cabinet, 7.2 x 5.0 x 4.5 cm
An oustanding pristine crystal with the deepest amber color in any topaz I have yet seen from here. It is exceptionally equant and symmetric, and gemmy and lustrous all over. It is complete all around. It is, in person, much more gemmy than it appaears and I would say it is 90% transparent in total. There are some VERY INTERESTING inclusions of a crystalline mineral species in side! they LOOK like brookite or hematite blades but are probably slender schorl or tourmaline, I would guess. NEVER SEEN !
TCM03 - Fluorite - $3000 SOLD Yaoganxian Mine, Yizhang Co., Hunan Province, China cabinet, 12.8 x 8.3 x 7.7 cm
A dramatic 3.5 cm crystal sits atop this matrix specimen, and it is so sharp it looks carved. The crystal is pristine and complete on the front, contacted only on the backside of the specimen. The green major crystal sits atop multihued smaller crystals that cover the matrix, and they show both purple and green depending on the angle of the light. I have NEVER seen a Yaoganxian specimen quite like this, with the not-so-subtle green phantom and the combination of gemminess and lustre. It stands out amongst a huge crowd of Yaoganxian fluorites, many of which can cost considerably more money. Obtained in trade from Marshall and Charlotte Sussman, and I love it!
TCM04 - Stilbite - $750 Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China cabinet, 10.6 x 7.4 x 4.2 cm
The only larger stilbite specimen i have sene in good condition, for this locality. It is really quite nice for any stilbite, and reminds me of old New Jersey material. For China, this is something new!
TCM05 - Azurite with Malachite - $2450 SOLD Luifengshan Copper Mine, Guichi City, Anjui Province, China cabinet, 12.1 x 5.3 x 2.7 cm
A brilliantly sparkling, lustrous, colorful specimen that is literally the top of the find. This was the single flashiest piece in a truckload lot I bought at Tucson 3 years ago, and it was sold to a private collector at the time who helped me carry them into the show for a sale. I know the pics make it look like just "another nice" azurite. but it is more than that. it is REALLY a special piece with incredible beauty, and stands out from the herd. i had perhaps 800 pieces, of which this was literally among the top half dozen specimens for quality (if not price).
TCM08 - Gold - $2000 Dafu, Sichuan Province, China miniature, 4.6 x 3.8 x 2.3 cm
A rare Chinese gold specimen, quite rich with crudely crystalline gold AND leaf gold in veins running through the quartz. It is very hefty and rich, at 48 grams or so (about an ounce and a third)
TCM09 - Bournonite with Quartz - $2250 SOLD Yaoganxian Mine, Yizhang Co., Hunan Province, China miniature, 4.6 x 4.3 x 2.4 cm
A stunning miniature featuring a single large crystal that has excellent lustre, form, and is dramatically perched on matrix. For the price and size range, this is not only one of the better Chinese bournonite miniatures I have had, but also one at the best price I have yet been able to obtain and offer for a piece of this quality. It leaps out from a case, and is really quite impressive for what you get compared to specimens from other classic bournonite localities.
TCM10 - Realgar (floater) - $950 Shimen, Hunan Province, China miniature, 4.6 x 1.5 x 0.8 cm
A DOUBLY-TERMINATED FLOATER of rare size and quality! This crystal is translucent, very gemmy, and just beautiful. It has only small dings, acceptable in such a soft species, and is obviously mostly pristine as you can see from the pics. I have nothad one of this size before that is doubly-terminated.
TCM11 - Inesite - SOLD Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China miniature, 5.5 x 4.0 x 3.1 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale ex. Francis Benjamin
This is an expensive piece, to be sure, but it is of the finest quality. This piece has an unusually 3-dimensional spray and the best hands-down color I have seen only in the VERY TOP Chinese inesites. These specimens came out a few years ago at their best, and most seem to have gone in a lot deal to Steve Smale. From him, this fine miniature went to Francis Benjamin in exchanges, and now to me. It has never been shown befor eits publcation recently and I know both previous owners consider it the finest miniature from the find that they are aware of (i agree). It is illustrated and is important because it has DISTINCT ISOLATED CRYSTALS that fan out nicely from the core of this 3-dimensional spray. Most of these specimens are more "jumbled" or in wheat-sheave-like bundles. These are already the best inesites since a small pocket in the early 1980s in South Africa, but this one piece really stahds out in its exceptional crystal quality. Others came out later. They are ALMOST as good. This first round was, from what I have seen, still the best.
TCM15 - Inesite and Quartz - $8000 SOLD Daye Mine, Hubei Province, China small cabinet, 8.6 x 7.0 x 4.2 cm ex. Dr. Steve Smale ex. Irv Brown ex. Jim and Gail Spann
A beautiful 2-inch "bowtie" of inesite is nicely centered on matrix, and accented by a quartz that spears through it! This is of a very high quality for the find both in terms of the SIZE of the inesite cluster itself and the aesthetics. Also, the color is , like the above, very good. I think in time we will look back and see that this find was very significant - inesite in crystal form , freestanding like this, is very rare in the world and such specimens haven't been found but a few times at now-defunct mines. This is going to be a classic, and it happens to be both beautiful and rare as a species as well. It is an important specimen that has made the rounds over the last 4 years in a series of trades, before i acquired it recently. There is a reason so many people wanted it! It is only being parted with now by the owners because of duplication.
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